ANCHORAGE – The Alaska Anchorage men's and women's ski team completed the NCAA West Region / Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships in sixth with seven top-15 finishes in the classic and slalom races Saturday.
The Seawolves wrapped up six straight days of skiing in Alaska with the second and final day of the RMISA Championships with doubles as the NCAA West Region. After eight scored events, UAA combined for 474 points. Winning the West Region crown was Colorado with 651 points, while Utah took second with 609 and New Mexico finished third with 550.
Over the two days, the Seawolves' best event was the men's freestyle race (75 points), while the women's top performances came today in the classic competition with 72 points. The men's slalom produced 62 points, while the women's giant slalom contributed 46.
In today's competition, junior Manon Locatelli, a local of Romans sur Isere, France, furnished her first collegiate podium result. One day after finishing fifth in the freestyle race, Locatelli took third in the 15K classic with a time of 43 minutes, 10.8 seconds. Overall, Locatelli has five top-10 results this season.
Helping Locatelli to 72 points – good for a tie for third in the event – were freshman Kathrin Schratt (44:39.8) and junior Patricia Sprecher (47:10.3) in eighth and 18th, respectively.
In the men's 20K classic, the Seawolves' top finisher was junior Clement Molliet (Chambery, France). Skiing with the top-8 pack for the majority of the race, Molliet took seventh at 50:34.4 for his fourth top-10 result this week alone and ninth overall. Additionally, junior Etienne Richard (52:16.5) finished 13th, while freshman Alex Mahoney (53:02.8) was 17th.
Meanwhile, leading the Seawolves in Girdwood at Alyeska Ski Resort was senior Sean Alexander (Calgary, Alberta). Alexander posted a two-run time of 1:23.10 in the men's slalom for eighth – his third top-10 showing of the week. Also finishing in the top-15 were sophomore Hughston Norton (12th, 1:24.11) and freshman Martins Onskulis (13th, 1:24.25).
In the women's slalom, UAA's top performer was freshman Marion Hudry, who finished 16th at 1:31.62.
Qualified individuals will have the following weekend off to prepare for the NCAA Skiing Championships, March 10-13 at Lake Placid, N.Y.
